Drago Santa Monica Closes + Drago Centro Pasta Class

Celestino Drago recently announced that Drago, the Santa Monica restaurant he opened 21 years ago, will close Jan. 31. "It was kind of a tough decision because it's like my baby," the Sicilian chef and restaurateur told the L.A. Times. "The restaurant did a lot for my career. But I've got my hands full with so much." Drago runs a catering business, the Dolce Forno bakery and several restaurants: Celestino, Enoteca Drago, Il Pastaio and Drago Centro.

So, don't worry. Unlike the pizzas, pastas and panini of the recently-closedAngeli Caffe, Drago's cooking is not disappearing any time soon.

On Wednesday from 6 - 8 p.m., executive chef Ian Gresnik will teach a pasta-making class at Drago Centro downtown. For $55, participants can make, roll and cook their own dough. The price includes "a few tastes" of pasta and a drink.

And perhaps a touch of star-quality. As Jonathan Gold wrote in his review of Drago Centro, "Drago has always been ace with pasta, and his fresh pappardelle with pheasant and morels, ricotta cavatelli with venison sauce, and paccheri with spot prawns are as glamorous as Fred and Ginger dancing on a penthouse terrace."